Man charged after Berwyn ax attack damages 15 cars

A 43-year-old Burbank man has been charged after an ax attack damaged 15 vehicles in Berwyn on Saturday, police said.

Thach Ho has been charged with 10 felony counts of criminal damage to property charges, one count of aggravated fleeing and eluding, four misdemeanor criminal damage to property and misdemeanor reckless driving and several traffic citations, police said Monday. Ho used to reside in Berwyn.

At about 11 a.m. Saturday, police responded to several calls of a man swinging an ax at people in the area of the 3400-block of South Ridgeland Avenue, police said. After police arrived, witnesses told officers the man fled in a Mercedes SUV west on Ogden Avenue.

A few minutes later, police received a call of a man and vehicle matching the suspect's description in the 3700-block of South Wesley Avenue damaging vehicles with an ax, police said. The caller said the suspect fled west on 39th Street and officers located the suspect and his vehicle.

Officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop but Ho led police on a pursuit from Berwyn to Cicero and back, hitting a vehicle near Ogden and Wisconsin avenues, police said. Officers eventually boxed him in in an alley in the 1900-block of Ridgeland Avenue and Ho was taken into custody.

A motive for the attack was not released by police.

Sami Abu-Assaf said the man hit his silver Toyota several times.

"The window was smashed in by an ax, three ax holes in the window and my windshield and my passenger, driver side mirror nothing," Abu-Assaf said.